"He received a degree in Religion from Azusa Pacific University and was ordained to the ministry by the Standard Community Church, California, in 1975." 1

"Dan maintained a touring musical ministry for 17 years, including eight years of full-time, cross-country evangelism." 1

"Following five years of reading, Dan gradually outgrew his religious beliefs. "If I had limited myself to Christian authors, I'd still be a Christian today," Dan says. 'I just lost faith in faith.' He announced his atheism publicly in January, 1984."1
"Dan was PR Director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation from 1987 to 2004. He was elected co-president of the Foundation with Annie Laurie Gaylor in 2004. He is a contributing editor of Freethought Today and is involved with the Foundation's state/church lawsuits." 1

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is at it again. Take a look at this Fox News video featuring Dan Barker.Militant Atheists Vs. Christmas - Click this link to view a Fox News video featuring Dan Barker from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Evidently Mr. Barker has a serious problem with nativity scenes.

If you recall, I recently wrote about the Rancho Cucamonga, California Imagine No Religion billboard fiasco. That billboard, which has since been removed due to the pressure of angry residents of Rancho Cucamonga, was put up by the same atheist, secular humanist Freedom From Religion Foundation.My Related Posts

Saturday, December 6, 2008

I had the opportunity to see Baz Luhrmann's Australia a few days ago. The Aboriginal child actor Brandon Walters is so good that I wouldn't be surprised if he is nominated, and wins, an Academy Award. His portrayal of an Aboriginal outcast (half white and half Aboriginal) boy named Nullah in 1939 Australia moved me to tears.

Now please don't get me wrong. Hugh Jackman is terrific as the cattle driver named The Drover. Actually, Hugh Jackman is perfect in this role. I can't imagine anyone else, even Russell Crowe, who happens to be one of my favorite actors, superceding Hugh Jackman's performance. (Russell Crowe, I found out later, was the original pick for The Drover, but Hugh Jackman won this one, and I think it was a good decision). *See My Related Link below.

Nicole Kidman, who doesn't happen to be one of my favorite actresses, really won me over in this film. In fact, I believe I liked her better in Australia than in any other movie I have ever seen her in. Nicole Kidman's portrayal of Lady Sarah Ashley is especially interesting as she allowed herself to be seen on camera with hideous eyeglasses of that time period, but they somehow added to her portrayal of a strong-willed woman who despises racial intolerance.

Australia is a rare film coming out of today's movie industry, which seems to have an almost obsessive need to mass produce far too many unnecessary R-rated films. I highly recommend this PG-13 rated film. It could have easily been an R-rated film, but it is not, and I appreciate the effort of any filmmaker these days who possesses this kind of ethical clarity.

Australia is a film with merit and values where they count, depicting both racial bigotry on the one hand, and true compassion and love on the other. Australia is not only about racism and cattle. It also depicts two very different types of love stories: the romantic love between The Drover (Hugh Jackman) and Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), plus the deeply spiritual love between the young Aboriginal outcast Nullah and his mentor/teacher King George, Nullah's grandfather.

King George is an Aboriginal Shaman or mystic who often stands on one leg in Yogi-like fashion and sings mystical Aboriginal melodies, which he teaches to Nullah. These melodies have magical qualities, and are considered to have great power.

Indeed, the good results that occur due to King George's Aboriginal manipulations are nothing short of miraculous. There is one scene in which a melody is sung by Nullah to protect him from imminent death. (I'm not going to name the specifics, less that scene be ruined before you get a chance to see the movie.)

The deep connection between the boy Nullah and his grandfather King George has an almost hypnotic effect on the viewer. King George, frequently standing in elevated places, seems to be directing events in Nullah's life in order to protect Nullah from harm, just as the fiddler in Fiddler on the Roof, always standing on the rooftop fiddling, seems to be protecting the Jews of Anatevya.

There is definitely a magical quality to the movie Australia. I highly recommend director Baz Luhrmann's film. Australia is a long movie (about 2 3/4 hours), but I thought it moved at a good pace, and, besides, with all of the economic problems going on in the world today, I appreciated getting not only my money's worth, but also leaving the theater with a feeling that I had not wasted my valuable time watching this movie. I give Australia 4 1/4 stars out of a possible 5-star rating.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

I don't put much stock in the fact that Al Gore won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his dedication to the false theory of global warming. *See My Related Post.

In any case, Global Warming Prophet of Doom Al Gore has contributed immensely to his own global warming nightmares. **See My Related Posts.The Norwegian Nobel Committee bestowed the Nobel Peace Prize honors jointly to Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on October 12, 2007.

According to Christopher Horner, author of the book Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud, and Deception to Keep You Misinformed, the United Nations purposely changed pertinent facts known to scientists for thousands of years in order to enforce their liberal and untrue views on the unsuspecting public.

That's right! The United Nations manipulated previously known facts in order to back up global warming mythology. I personally heard Christopher Horner explain this during a recent interview on KRLA's Dennis Prager show. ***See My Related Post.

Christopher Horner, by the way, is no newcomer to this field. Christopher Horner is considered to be an expert on global warming by many of his scientific peers. In fact, he is a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and counsels Cooler Heads Coalition. 1If you want to know the real truth about global warming, read Christopher Horner's book Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud, and Deception to Keep You Misinformed. 1http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_C._HornerNew! Subscribe to CONSERVATIVE WORDSMITH.COM!New! Make a donation to CONSERVATIVE WORDSMITH.COM!New! Purchase only $25.00 worth of Amazon books, and get a 34% discount, PLUS more Amazon offers!

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If Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen were alive today, would he have voted Yes or No on Proposition 8, California's heavily controversial gay marriage amendment? I believe that Freddie Mercury would have cast a Yes vote, yes meaning, in the case of Proposition 8, that he would favor traditional marriage between a man and his wife, and not gay marriage.

Why? The love of Freddie Mercury's life was a woman named Mary Austin, in spite of his many sexual liasons with men. Freddie said that he considered Mary Austin to be his wife.*

Did Freddie Mercury write the song entitled "Love of My Life," for a man? No, the song "Love of My Life" was written for Mary Austin. **

Note: View You Tube slide show of Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin below.

"In the early 1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with a girlfriend named Mary Austin (whom he had met through guitarist Brian May). He lived with Austin for many years. However, by the mid-1970s, the singer began an affair with a male record executive at Elektra Records; this ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin.[40] Mercury and Austin nevertheless remained close friends through the years, with Mercury often referring to her as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, 'All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary [Austin], but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. *To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me.'"[41]**He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is 'Love of My Life'. Mercury was also the godfather of Mary's eldest son, Richard.[33]" 1

In fact, Freddie loved Mary so much that he left most of his enormous wealth to Mary Austin. "In his will Mercury left the vast majority of his wealth, including his home and recording royalties, to Mary Austin, and the remainder to his parents and sister. He further left £500,000 to his chef Joe Fanelli, £500,000 to his personal assistant Peter Freestone, £100,000 to his driver Terry Giddings, and £500,000 to Jim Hutton.[50] Mary Austin continues to live at Mercury's home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, with her family.[50] Hutton moved back to the Republic of Ireland permanently in 1995, where he still lives. He was involved in a 2000 biography of Mercury, Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story, and also gave an interview for The Times for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday.cf. [46]" 1